A process for providing a topography to the surface of a dental implant, the surface being made of a ceramic material having yttria-stabilized zirconia, the process including: providing a macroscopic roughness to the surface of the dental implant by a mechanical process and/or injection molding technique; and etching at least a part of the roughened surface, wherein etching is carried out using an etching solution having hydrofluoric acid at a temperature of 70 C. at least, such that discrete grains or agglomerates of grains are removed from the yttria-stabilized zirconia, thereby forming recesses and cavities in the roughened surface is disclosed.

A dental prosthesis is provided, manufactured from a monobloc or multibloc prosthesis blank (10), which is composed of a gum-colored material (14) and a tooth-colored material (12), which materials (12, 14) are bonded to each other by bonding, polymerization and/or one-piece manufacture. The boundary surface (16) between the materials is wave-shaped comprising alternating grooves (22) and ribs (24) in the course of the dental arch, and radial in an oral-vestibular direction in the region of the anterior teeth (33) to be created. The boundary surface (16), at least in the region of the molars (26)again as viewed in the oral vestibular directionhas parallel grooves (22) and ribs (24) forming troughs and crests of the waveform, or grooves (22) and ribs (24) such that they extend in deviation from parallel by at most 10 degrees, in particular at most 5 degrees, at least in the region of the molars (26).

A ceramic dental implant for implantation into a jaw bone extending from an apical end to a coronal end. The implant has a blind bore open towards the coronal end and extends towards the apical end along a central longitudinal axis. The blind bore includes a threaded section having a base surface where a thread protrudes radially inwards. The threaded section includes a main portion, wherein the maximum thread radius remains constant along the portion length and, adjacent to the main portion, a tapered portion where the base surface tapers radially inwards from the maximum thread radius to the minimum thread radius at the apical end of the tapered portion, the tapered portion extending over an axial length greater than the thread pitch, forming a tapered thread having gradual reduction in thread depth, the tapered thread extending over more than one thread turn.

The present invention provides an improved root canal filling point/cone that can be manufactured precisely to result in better obturation with less micro-leakage. One aspect of the present invention is directed to a molded root canal filling point/cone. Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a thermo-pressure molding process for manufacturing root canal filing appliances (e.g., Gutta Percha points). Another aspect of the present invention is directed to the structure of the mold for undertaking thermo-injection molding. A further aspect of the present invention is directed to a production line comprising the thermo-injection process.

A custom oral device is provided that fits on the maxillary or mandibular arch of a wearer. The oral device comprises a tray that corresponds with the shape and size of a wearer's oral anatomy. A soft liner is disposed within an occlusal channel of the tray having an upper surface that comprises an impression having features that correspond to at least a portion of the wearer's dentition and in which the wearer's teeth align. An apparatus and a method for making the custom oral device are provided.

A polyaryletherketone resin material is provided for dental use having high color tone stability in the case of exposure to visible light. The polyaryletherketone resin material for dental use includes a polyaryletherketone resin, which is a thermoplastic resin containing at least an aromatic group, an ether group (ether bond), and a ketone group (ketone bond) in its structural unit, and having a b* value of 10.0 or more in terms of colorimetric value of a 1.0 mm molded body in a CIELab color system under a black background condition.

The invention relates to a method for processing a dental material (28), in particular pressing and curing a dental material, by means of a molding insert (30) that has a pre-pressing area (22) which adjoins a molding area (14, 16), wherein the pre-pressing area (22) is designed to receive the dental material (28), and a pressing furnace with a firing chamber (10) for receiving the molding insert (30). The method has the following steps: introducing the dental material (28) into the pre-pressing chamber (22); heating the firing chamber (10), in which the molding insert (30) is located, to a first temperature; pressing the dental material (28) into the molding area (14, 16) using a pressing punch (26) by applying a force onto the pressing punch (26) during a first processing phase, wherein the pressing punch (26) is moved, and the pressing punch speed is detected as a speed profile dependent on the time; and adjusting the firing chamber (10), in particular cooling the firing chamber to a second temperature, during a second processing phase starting at a point in time at which the detected speed profile matches a first speed profile without reducing the force applied to the pressing punch (26).

Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a dental prosthesis, including a step of digitally designing a dental prosthesis model from a replica model of a patient's teeth, a step of generating a jaw portion model including the teeth replica model and the dental prosthesis model, a step of manufacturing a jaw portion including a positioning member based on the model of the jaw portion, and a step of positioning the jaw portion on a shell of a shell mold by the interaction of the positioning member of the jaw portion with a complementary positioning member arranged in the shell. Also disclosed is a shell mold used in such a method.

A method of smoothing teeth by, for instance, filling in cracks, chips and eroded areas by applying calcium and/or casein and/or phosphate and a source of OH.sup. ions thereto. The method optionally provides that very thin layer(s) of dental cement be interlaced with other applied materials, and that the results be maintained in contact with the teeth involved by application of a composition of matter that adheres to said teeth and holds the results in place, while allowing at least some permeation of saliva therethrough. The method can optionally involve application of a backing strip or tray or the like to secure the other materials in place, but this is not a requirement where the composition of matter is sufficiently securing.

The invention relates to a blank for the production of a molded body, in particular a dental reconstruction. The blank has a base and at least one region that emanates therefrom and projects above the base, from which at least a part of the molded body can be derived by working.